Title: Big Bad Beast
Author: Shelly Laurenston
Series: Pride #6
Rating Out of 5: 5 (I will read this again and again and again)
My Bookshelves: Paranormal romance, Shapeshifters, Urban fantasy
Pace: Fast
Format: eBook, Novel
Year: 2011

I’ve been waiting to read more of Dee Ann’s story since I met her in my very first Shelly Laurenston book. I mean, she’s obviously insanely badass. And I wondered how she ended up with a wonderfully sophisticated man. I love the whole opposites attract vibe that they both have. And now that I’ve finally read their romance – I was NOT disappointed. It was everything that I wanted and more. The perfect, fun opposites attract romance. One with plenty of violence and mayhem (just how I like them).

Although this was a great opposites attract story, it was also one about love at first sight… to a degree. I love how Ric decides when he is not even a teenager that he’s going to marry Dee Ann. And it kind of seems that once his mind is made up, nothing is going to shift him. A trait that is very good with a woman who is just as stubborn and independently minded. The fact that he’s subtle about it and just slowly works on Dee Ann just made it all that much better. Plus, Ric’s love language is food! I love when there’s a couple in which one is just determined to feed up the other. It definitely made me slightly hungry while reading this.

I love that this story also expands on the whole hybrid fighting rings story line. At least one of the key characters in driving this fighting ring is revealed (and receives their comeuppance, as they should). But I get the feeling that there are going to be a whole lot more evil things going on in the background. It was great that this was the more high octane aspect of the plot line. Ric and Dee Ann’s romance actually doesn’t have all too many boundaries, I mean there’s a little bit about the fact that they come from two warring packs, but it’s not too bad. All of this just means that there is a wonderfully violent battle at the end.

There are two major wolf dynasties throughout this series. You get to know about both of them a little throughout the first few books in the Pride series. But it was nice to have them take centre stage and be contrasted in Big Bad Beast. It’s very enjoyable how Laurenston is able to take the idea of different species of shifters, and then different aspects of those species and create such strong, distinct groups. I’m not sure which Pack I want more of now – the Smiths or the Van Holtzes…

Image source: Amazon

Title: Beast Behaving Badly
Author: Shelly Laurenston
Series: Pride #5
Rating Out of 5: 5 (I will read this again and again and again)
My Bookshelves: Paranormal romance, Shapeshifters, Urban fantasy
Pace: Fast
Format: eBook, Novel
Year: 2010

Blayne is one of those amazing show stealer secondary characters in The Mane Squeeze. It mademe want to dive right into her story immediately after finishing The Mane Squeeze. Which, of course I did. And man, was I not disappointed. Blayne’s story was brilliant and fun. Plus, I remember her and Bo from the Honey Badger Chronicles, so reading their origin story was nice.

Blayne is one of those terrifying individuals who is just… happy. All. The. Time. Bo is a really nice counterpoint to this. He’s incredibly rude and blunt. I mean, if I had someone like Bo in my life, I’d punch him in the face. Repeatedly. Probably everyday if I could… but then, I’d probably be the same with a personality type like Blayne. They’re two extremes of irritating. And reading about them was way too much fun.

I love that although Blayne seems like a crazy, naive fool, she is actually incredibly dangerous. Like, insanely dangerous. And the fact that sheslearnt all of this at her father’s knee… it’s a whole lot of fun and beautiful love. The fact that there’s a good chance that her father is completely insane just makes it all that much more fun. In fact, I love his breakdown of their dynamic and how drastically different his point of view is to that of his daughter’s. Best father daughter relationship I’ve read in a while.

The hybrid fighting ring plot line also gains some pretty major traction throughout this story. Enough so that it’s gaining some major heat and intensity. Each time I read more about this world and the hybrid battles, I want to know more. And who is the big, evil behind it all… I’m sure that’s going to be a huge reveal later in the series…

Image source: Goodreads

Title: The Mane Squeeze
Author: Shelly Laurenston
Series: Pride #4
Rating Out of 5: 5 (I will read this again and again and again)
My Bookshelves: Paranormal romance, Shapeshifters, Urban fantasy
Pace: Fast
Format: eBook, Novel
Year: 2009

This is yet another brilliant book by Laurenston, it was funny, engaging and incredibly cute. Not to mention witty and sassy. Everything I’ve grown to love in a Laurenston romance. Gwen isn’t quite what you expect from her appearances in her brothers’ stories. She’s definitely an absolute spitfire of a cat. One that has absolutely no hesitation fighting for, well, anything. I would constantly too, with moronic brothers like she has.

Lock is a great, and incredibly sweet counterpoint to Gwen’s feistiness. I love what a chilled sweetheart he is. I mean, he is constantly just meandering along and going with the flow. Although, my favourite part is that he is CONSTANTLY downplaying all of the information that he passes on. I mean, thers being calm, and then there’s being purposefully dense about how impactful information can be.

So far in the Pride series, there’s been a bit of working up towards the idea of hunting of hybrids. Although some of this has been touched upon, the prejudice against hybrids and how dangerous that is is truly shown in this story. Although there is absolutely no conclusion to this part of the story, it does set up an overarching battle throughout the series. One that makes me want to dive straight back into this series.

I’ve read some stories with crazy mothers before. But never anyone of the calibre of Roxy. I mean, she damn well shaves a woman’s head (and other crackjack behaviours) in retaliation for daring to threaten her daughter. She also just has a habit of ending up in the most bizarre situations. One’s which of course flow over to her poor daughter.

The Roller Derby babes are also absolutely fantastic. Not only do I live the idea of this incredibly bloody shifter version of the sport. But I also live the camaraderie and care the women show for one another. Particularly Bayne. Who I can’t read more about, just who and what she ends up with…

Image source: Penguin Books Australia

Title: The Mane Attraction
Author: Shelly Laurenston
Series: Pride #3
Rating Out of 5: 5 (I will read this again and again and again)
My Bookshelves: Paranormal romance, Shapeshifters, Urban fantasy
Pace: Fast
Format: eBook, Novel
Year: 2008

Sissy Mae is one of those show stealing secondary characters since you meet her in Christmas Pride. She is sassy, witty and full of attitude. Just the kind of woman that I love. But, she’s also obviously got a heart of gold underneath all of that violence that she happily totes around. Which means that I very quickly dived right into The Mane Attraction… I had to know how she got her happily ever after! And what kind of supportive male she ends up with.

I love that Sissy is an incredibly tough (and very violent) woman. She might have the best heart ever, but it’s how happy she is to stir other people up that I truly fell in love with. Although I don’t have the gumption to constantly cause a ruckus wherever I go, it was fun to read about someone who enjoys doing so. Her good heart also makes it a little bit more difficult to read about the treatment that she endures from some of her brothers and her mother. The mother is definitely misplaced affection… but her brothers?

As a nice counterpoint to Sissy Mae’s less-than-kind brother, Mitch’s relationship with his own sibling is really sweet. I love how the two lion brothers fall for wolf-shifter women. And literally just go along for the ride. Mostly in horror and confusion at the antics of Sissy Mae and Ronnie Lee. I mean, the driving? The weird derby race? I can completely understand the fear of the two males, but also how freaking fun would that all be!?!?!?

There are so many good (well-written I should say) sibling relationships throughout this story. But, honestly, I particularly like that when Sissy Mae is pushed to show her strength (and alpha-ness), she manages to break her brothers knee. I mean, that is a wonderful way to show that she is able to take care of herself. There are some other wonderful consequences to that action, but I just like that Sissy has no hesitations to get her revenge on someone who has been treating her seriously poorly.

Alongside the sibling relationships and issues are the older generation of women in both families. They are so happy meddling in the relationship of Sissy and Mitch. Although, most of this manipulation is quite obvious, there are a lot of subtle moments throughout that the couple are completely oblivious to. I particularly like how the matriarchs on both sides of the family unwittingly band together to stop threats to the couple. And give us all a happily ever after.

Image source: Amazon

Title: The Beast in Him
Author: Shelly Laurenston
Series: Pride #2
Rating Out of 5: 4.5 (Amazing, but not quite perfect)
My Bookshelves: Paranormal romance, Shapeshifters, Urban fantasy
Pace: Fast
Format: eBook, Novel
Year: 2008

Smitty and Jessie Ann are a wonderful and fun couple. I mean, you have two canine shapeshifters to start with. I’m obviously going to love that. And then, there’s also the whole childhood history and prejudices that are so obviously present in the Shifter World. I loved that Jessie Ann is an African Wild Dog shifter – not a shifter that I’ve seen very often, and one that I really enjoyed. I also loved how Laurenston highlighted the differences between the two types of shifters.

Jessie Ann might be small with a history of being a bully victim, but she is incredibly tough. I seriously enjoyed all of the ways in which she led her Pack and found a way to compensate for the size difference. Particularly when she decides to enact her revenge on Sissy Mae. She also continuously fights with Smitty to make sure he sees her as an equal, not someone who is smaller and weaker.

Smitty’s parents are secondary characters in Like a Wolf with a Bone, and I didn’t get overly attached to them in that story. But, their manipulations and energy in this novel was brilliant. I absolutely adored them and found their antics quite funny. Don’t get me wrong, I would HATE the idea of having such people as my parents, but it was still quite an entertaining plot driver.

I honestly read this paranormal romance from cover to cover. I thought that the characters were lovely, and the romance passionate, with a little sweetness rubbed in. Although, I must say, that I loved the Wild Dog Pack the most. I really want more of them in my future readings!

Image source: Shelly Laurenston